Grapple Grounders: Endangered Species
by Sonic the Celestial Dragon
Summary: The Grapple Grounder city of Albion was under attack, thanks to the Metal Nightmare, Fire-Talon, and his Death Talon ship. To make matters worse, the Grounders mysteriously disappeared. Team Hearts and Knuckles were about to find out, but what did Noah Raymond Thompson have anything to do with it? (I own nothing)
1. Prologue

_At the Dragon's Home China, Xolakin, Draco's Island was in danger of getting back into its crater when it first rose. When the insane white Grapple Grounder, Dr. Finetevus, was looking around a corner, not knowing a hand was about to grab him. He whispered, "I must admit- being part of a strike team is an amusing novelty." Suddenly, the hand grabbed his hide and the owner of the hand raised his high, "Well, I hope you enjoyed it, 'cause you ain't got much left to look forward to."_

_It was a eggplant-purple panda with golden blobs, smirking with triumph. He had a tan belly and muzzle, silvery eyes, and two golden earrings on his left ear. He wore golden sneakers and a silvery chain around his neck and two around his wrists. He had a jeweled cross with a light blue Thunderdrum in the middle that was dangling from his chain necklace. He also had four lightning scars that seemed that they were from a Grapple Grounder's claw marks._

_This was Noah Raymond Thompson, also known as Frog-Mouth._

_A red snow leopard, who was Freddy Mount and known as Flame-Wing for being a Monstrous Nightmare, ordered the panda, "Keep this professional, Frog-Mouth. If we're quick and quiet, we'll find Lion-Claw." Noah nodded but Finetevus chuckled evilly. They looked at the Grounder in confusion as he said, "What do you expect from _him? _After all, his 'breed' is useless next to the rest of the mongrels _my _kind perfected."_

_This caused Noah to be offended and extremely ticked off. He growled, "Shut-Your-Filthy-" He roared as he swung a fist at Finetevus, "-**FACE!**" Unfortunately, the Grounder opened a small Warp Ring from his arm and the fist went in it. The Warp Ring opened right above Freddy and the panda's fist punched him unconscious._

_"Flame-Wing!" a Golden Pheasant exclaimed. Zika turned to a Red Panda, "Storm-Lover, we gotta take him down, fast!" "I'm on it!" Lin exclaimed, turning into his Skrill form. The reddish-brown Skrill lunged at the Grounder, but the ringed dragon opened another Warp Ring and grinned as Lin crashed into a wall from the ring._

_Finetevus teased the infuriated panda, "Easy there, boy. Heel. Sit. Stay." "**SHUT UP!**" Noah roared._

_He swung his fist at the white dragon and roared as Finetevus sunk into his Warp Ring, "You're just another stinkin' Grounder!" The Grapple Grounder attacked by kicking the panda in the face from another Warp Ring, remarking, "And you're just the remainder of a failed experiment."_

* * *

_After many hours, Finetevus was stopped, Lion-Claw the Typhoomerang was proved innocent, and Draco's Island was safe. After the Xolakin Dragon-Hearts thanked the Draconixs and Knuckles, Noah stood in front of an open Warp Ring he found. He asked to the red Grounder and the white one, "So... gonna go back up to Draco's Island with all yer Grounder friends?" "No, actually," Knuckles answered._

_Noah crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "No? Oh, right. I remember you saying all that's left work for the Iron Queen now." "Half of 'em, yeah. But still..." Sarabi, the white Grounder, said, looking at Knuckles in curiosity. "The other half are hidden away for their safety," Knuckles finished._

_Noah smirked with his hand on his chin, a plan hatching into his brain as he looked at the Warp Ring behind him. He said, "Well, of course. Sure would be an awful thing for the last of your kind to get wiped out." "What's next for you, Noah?" Sarabi asked._

_Noah turned to the Warp Ring and turned his head, giving them a reassuring smirk, "My chums got everything under control. In the meantime, I think I'll just take up my old quest. Ta!" With that, the panda jumped into the Warp Ring, disappearing to unknown places._

* * *

_Later, at the Thunderdrum ruins, a Warp Ring opened and Noah jumped through it. He snapped his fingers and the portal closed. He caught it and transformed into his Thunderdrum form._

_Noah said, "You think you can protect all your kind? That's just sad. If that's the case, you're gonna be one of a kind. I have a plan, Grounder, n' it's gonna be revenge for what your kind did to my people all these years ago."_

_He smirked, "Oh, I'll take up my quest. And one day, we'll be **even**." He ran into an concrete cave and roared, getting the attention of hundreds of dog-like dragons..._


	2. Extinction Event

In the destroyed city of Albion, a Warp Ring opened. Out of it was a bright red Grapple Grounder. He had violet eyes, his dreadlocks were scaly, and his talons were long and white. He had two retractable black barbs on each of his knuckles. It was Knuckles the Grapple Grounder. He transformed back into his echidna form with a simple "Dragon-Heart".

He closed his warp ring and looked around. Almost everything was destroyed. Knuckles ran to look for survivors. "Hello?!" he called. No response. He picked up a Grounder doll and examined it. It was fresh.

"I know that this place doesn't have a lot of Grounders... but where **is** everyone?" Knuckles asked to himself. _FWASH!_ Knuckles turned his head and saw a golden aura at the docks. He ran toward it and already it was gone.

Now, this was getting on the echidna/Grounder's nerves. "I_ don't get it,_" he thought. _There were hundreds of Grapple Grounders here, so why can't I find any of them?_"

* * *

*Earlier*

_An eggplant-purple panda with golden blobs leaned on his opened Warp Ring. Surrounding him were a few unconscious Grounders and two sleeping Devil Drums, a brownish-orange one and a pinkish-brown Devil Drum._

_The panda had a tan belly and muzzle, and his eyes were silvery-gray. He wore a black leather jacket with a silvery-blue Thunderdrum on each of the sleeves, golden sneakers and silvery chains around his wrists and neck. He also wore sixteen golden bracelets around the arms under the sleeves, eight on each arm. He also had four talon scars that seemed like they were from a Grapple Grounder. He smirked at the Grounders at his feet evilly._

_He tapped the Warp Ring and said in fluent English, "This here's a Warp Ring. Boats can be sunk, foot-prints can be tracked, scents can be smelled, but _this_-" The panda motioned to the Warp Ring, "-this is **untraceable**." He picked up a Grounder and said, "So hop on through n' you won't worry 'bout nothin' again. Promise."_

* * *

*Now*

Knuckles heard another _FWASH!_ This time it was on top of a broken building. _There it is again!_ Knuckles thought. He ran toward it. Leaping over a brick wall, the golden aura flashed at a courtyard.

Near a blue plane, the aura flashed again. "_Bark! Bark! Bark!_" a robotic dog barked. "_Raaaaarr!_" a garbled dragon voice growled.

Knuckles for the source and saw a yellow, fox-like robot dog and a brownish-silver and doglike Devil Drum glaring at each other, growling angrily. Knuckles, recognizing the robot dog, turned into his Grapple Grounder form and leaped between them. Once the Devil Drum saw the crimson Grounder, it snarled angrily. Thinking it was snarling at him for territory, Knuckles yelled, "Go on, croc! Beat it!"

The Devil Drum did, running as if it had to warn something. Transforming back into an echidna, Knuckles recognized the plane as the Tornado, "What's Team Hearts doing here?" He smiled as he patted the robot dog's head. "I take it you're one of Tails's mechanical things?" he asked. "Yip!" the robot dog replied.

Knuckles chuckled under his breath, "Should've guessed by the color scheme. Mind helping me find the others?" "Yip-yip!" the dog replied robotically. Knuckles said as they ran off, "Good dog! Er... fox? Robot."

* * *

Later, a greenish-brown Devil Drum was growling at an half-asleep hedgehog. He wore two gloves and red sneakers with a golden buckle. He had a peach muzzle, belly, and arms and cobalt-blue fur. The Devil Drum whipped its head to the sound of robotic barking. Its yellow eyes glowed and ran away when it saw Knuckles and T-Pup flying toward the hedgehog.

Knuckles landed and walked toward the blue hedgehog, who was with a two-tailed fox and a magenta hedgehog. "Sonic!" Knuckles said, shaking the blue hedgehog. "Hey, Sonic! Wake up!"

"Whossit? Wassit? Was goin' on?" Sonic mumbled, finally awakening. As Knuckles awakened the magenta hedgehog, Sonic stood up, trying to regain his balance. "What happened to you guys?" Knuckles asked as the fox was waking up.

"Last thing I remember was fightin' Metal Knuckles," answered Sonic, seeing a few stars. "Metal Knuckles...?" Knuckles asked in confusion.

* * *

_*Earlier*_

_A robotic Knuckles-like Grounder knocked out Sonic and flung him away from him. "Bro!" Sonia shouted in fear. Her anger came and transformed into her Celestial Dragon form, "Tails, he's in trouble!" The two-tailed Night Fury ordered, "You help him, I'll do something about these stun traps!"_

_Sonia whipped her spikey tail at Metal Knuckles, roaring, "Leave my brother alone!"_

_Meanwhile, Tails, now back as a fox, opened the wire box. He mumbled to himself as he high-jacked it, "Shutting this down isn't enough. If I find a way to turn the frequency back on them-" Wrong wire._

_A white wave stunned all of the Grounders and Team Hearts. They all fell to the ground, unconscious._

* * *

*Now*

Tails stood up, mumbling, "I can't say for certain, but I'd theorize that-" Sonia, now back as a hedgehog, groaned as she held her head, "Man, I feel like I've hit my head with my own tail." Sonic stretched his legs, summarizing their situation, "So we got a forced time-out. Big deal. Let's get back to it."

Sonic looked around, noticing that both the Legionairs and the Guardian Force were gone. Knuckles asked, "But if there were so many Grapple Grounders here, then..." He motioned to the dropped guns and black spots, "**Where'd they all go?**"

* * *

_*Earlier, after the technology accident*_

_The purple and yellow panda and two other Devil Drums walked inside a large hole in a wall. He said in disbelief, "Wow...! Look at all of 'em! After all these years of searchin', it's about time we got ourselves a lucky break."_

_Right before the panda grabbed a Grounder, he noticed something. "Hold on a sec..." he whispered. The panda ran toward Sonia with the fried Metal Knuckles. He threw the robot Grounder off of her._

_The panda kneeled down and gently picked up the unconscious Sonia. With a face of sympathy, he said, "I dunno what you're doin' in all this mess, but it looks like you got the worst of it." As the panda placed Sonia in a more comfortable position, he spotted a blue hedgehog. He gasped silently, "By Draco's Beard! Is that Fast-Flight the Celestial Dragon? What're you doin' here, I wonder?"_

_As he did the same to Sonic, a reddish-brown Devil Drum barked when it discovered Tails, "**YAHRK! YAHRK! YAHRK! YAHRK!**"_

_The panda ran over with a shocked look on his face, "Another one! And he's just a kid! Grapple Grounders bring nothing but misery to everyone, I tell ya!"_

_After he got all of the Team Hearts together, he squats down and rubs his hand on Sonia's bangs. He whispered, "There ya go, guys. Rest well. Just let ol' Noah take care of everything now."_

_He smirked evilly as he faced to the Grounders. He wipped out his Warp Ring, "Now... to take out the trash."_

* * *

*Now*

"Wait, if everyone is gone, then who moves us?" Sonia asked. "Wait, hold on a minute," Sonic said in confusion. "We were fighting side-by-side with a bunch of your Grounder buddies against those jokers with black pajamas and your great-half aunt, or whatever." "No," Knuckles crossed his arms.

He said regretfully, "You guys were the only ones here when I found you. I've been seeing Devil Drums and some flashes of light, but that's all." "This is too weird," Sonic said. "There were some refugees heading for the docks. Maybe everyone headed that way."

"No, the docks were empty," responded Knuckles. "I got a bad feeling about this." He faced to Tails, who was petting T-Pup, "I want back-up, Tails. Can that thing do long-range communications to Draco's Island?"

"Yeah, I'll set him up," Tails said, tapping T-Pup's tail. Immediately, T-Pup's eyes looked he was hypnotized and a satellite dish popped out from his back. "There," smiled Tails. "Now just talk into his eyes." Finding this a little weird, Knuckles said, "Uh, okay."

The echidna/Grounder cleared his throat and said into T-Pup's eyes, "Sarabi, do you read me? It's Knuckles. I need you the two of you on the mainland. Hello? Can you read me?"

He stood up, "No response. Patch me through to PEARL-Bone. She would've spoken to my teammates last." Setting T-Pup to communicate PEARL-Bone, Tails replied, "Goddit, just gimme a second. So glad that her exile was over-turned."

T-Pup's eyes glowed yellowish-green with Nanites and finally, a hologram of a small and pearly-white Boneknapper appeared. She had yellow wings with blue tips and green markings. "PEARL-Bone!" Knuckles said, kneeling down. "It's Knuckles. I can't reach anyone on the island."

"Neither could I, but you left before I could tell you," PEARL-Bone replied. "Perhaps she intercepted the signal and went ahead of you?" Knuckles stood up, growling as PEARL-Bone disappeared, "No, Vector and I have the only Warp Rings." Thunder boomed and rain began to fall.

"Something is _very _wrong here," he said as he curled his fist. Sonic agreed, "Sure is. C'mon, we'll search the island together. No surprises."

Sonic then remembered something of what Knuckles kept finding, "You mentioned something about flashes of light. Think it might've been Warp Rings? Ya know, Doc Finny-whatsit?" "Finitevus," growled Knuckles. "It crossed my mind, but if it was him, why would he leave **_you_ **alone?

Knuckles growled, "He's got just as much reason to hate you as well." "Good point," smirked Sonic. "So who else has a Warp Ring?"

* * *

_*Days Ago*_

_In a hidden laboratory, a Warp Ring opened and the purple and gold panda with two Devil Drums, a brownish-purple one and a brownish-gold one, came out of the portal. "Found ya at last!" the panda smirked. "Thanks for droppin' one of your Warp Rings in Xolakin. Made gettin' to Draco's Island a whole lot simpler."_

_He looked around and bared his teeth in frustration. "Hmph, 'course you're not home," the panda growled. He ordered to the Devil Drums, "Search everywhere, girls. Finitevus might still be here." The Devil Drums growled in reply and did his order._

_The panda noticed some notes on a table. He walked toward it, "Hello, hello, hello, what'd we got here?" He picked up the notes and read the highlights, "Notes on the Grapple Grounder homeland itself and..." He smirked as he read the next highlight that caught his attention, "How to super-charge a Warp Ring?"_

* * *

*Now*

Knuckles said as they ran off, "I can think of one guy, but I dunno why he'd be here." Tails shouted, "Hold up! I think I see someone!" They stopped on top of a pile of rubble and saw the purple and gold panda with an opened Warp Ring and three Devil Drums.

The panda seemed to be putting something into the Warp Ring and the Devil Drums glared at Knuckles. "There," the panda said. He rubbed the dirt from his hands and said, "N' that's the last of 'em." "Noah!" Knuckles yelled, sliding down the pile. "You _**are**_ here! There better be an explanation for this!"

Sonic asked to the snarling echidna, "This the guy you were talkin' about a second ago?" "Yeah," growled Knuckles. "We were in Xolakin. He was helping out the Dragon-Hearts there."

Noah smirked as he leaned on the Warp Ring with his arms crossed, "Right-o. And after that bit of business, I took up my old quest, which is now all done. All thanks to you, Knuckles." Knuckles raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Thanks to me?"

Noah smirked as he walked a little away from the portal, ""You let me keep that Warp Ring I found after our little adventure in Xolakin. That helped me take care of those girls you had posted at the Draco's Diamond... and **_that _**helped me take care of all the Grapple Grounders in yer homeland." Knuckles, now stunned from Noah's evil plot, stammered, "All of the... What did you..." He snarled, "Where are they?"

Noah smirked and said, "**_Gone_**. Never to trouble this world again." He snapped his fingers and the Warp Ring closed with a _FWASH! _Noah caught the closed Ring and said, "So thanks." He smirked evilly, "Now we're **_even._**"

"**DRAGON HEART!**" Knuckles roared as he transformed into his Grounder form. He roared as he attacked Noah to the ground, "_**BRING THEM** **BACK!**_" When they reached the ground, Knuckles pinned Noah down by the throat and snarled, "Bring them back! Now!"

Noah took a deep breath and did a Thunderdrum roar, "_**NEVERRRRR!**_" The roar blasted away Knuckles, and he landed hard into a pile of rubble. He opened his eyes and saw Noah with the Warp Ring in his hand. The panda snarled, "I'm a just man, so you're lucky enough I'm leavin' you alive- **_AUGH!_**"

A blue spin-dash had hit Noah in the back, making the panda loose hold of the Ring. When Noah fell to the ground, Knuckles and Team Hearts were fighting the Devil Drums. He saw the one responsible for his back-pain and saw Sonic in his Celestial Dragon form. He had cobalt-blue scales, peach underscales, lime-green feathery mane, and shark-fin and cabbage-purple spines.

Sonic snarled, "Okay, I gave you your little villainous speech n' I let Knuckles get the first hit. Now, you either bring back all his people or we're gonna tussle!" Noah coughed as he held his back, "I don't have any beef to fight you. N' this ain't your fight."

"It is now," growled Sonic as his legs started to spin. "Last chance before I run you into the ground." Noah stood up straight, "Well, in that case, my answer is..." Noah took a deep breath and let out a "**RAAAAAAAAAGH!**" His Thunderdrum roar blew away Sonic, leaving the blue Celestial roaring as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the city and near the courtyard, a moving plant reach Metal Knuckles. It covered some of the robot and its left optic glowed green. The mutated robot stood up, "_**Hey, Sonic? I'm baaa-aack!**"_

* * *

**Aw, man! The Grounders... gone! Only Noah has the key to the rescue and he's got a pack of Devil Drums to protect him! And what's up with Metal Knuckles? Find out in the next chapter! Peace!**


	3. Restoration Efforts

*Outside the capital building, moments ago...*

A Crab-Meat badnik crawled as it was joined with the advanced robot plant, the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra. The plant-covered robot crab mumbled as it crawled, "Almost there... Almost there. Relax. Thanks to Crab-Meat, you've adapted. That horrible, short-circuiting rain can't hurt you anymore."

As the plant-covered badnik crawled around the capital, near a robot Grapple Grounder. Seeing no Legionairs, it called out, "Hello?! Any Fire-Talon-loyal forces here? Anybody?! Need some support here!"

Utterly disappointed that nobody was here and only saw abandoned guns on the ground, the Krudzu badnik growled, "Great. Juuuuuust great. First utterly humiliated by Team Hearts, then I barely survive in this badnik! I make it all the way to this middle-of-nowhere base, only to find it abandoned!"

It growled angrily as it walked near a robot, "How can I be the awe-inspiring Krudzu Hybrid Hydra when I'm stuck in this tiny, little-" Suddenly, Crab-Meat/Hydra saw the robot, "Hey, what's that?" It walked closer and saw a ruby-red Grapple Grounder robot.

Feeling cheerful, the Krudzu/Badnik grinned, "Oh, goodie-goodie-goodie-goodie! It's one of the Metal Series! And it's mostly intact!" It wrapped some of its vines, muttering, "Reroute a circuit here, replace a coupling there..."

Suddenly, Crab-Meat exploded and the vines wrapped around Metal Knuckles. The robot stood up and the left eye glowed green with a _BZZT! _The Krudzu/Metal Knuckles purred, "Hey, Sonic? I'm baaaa-aaaak!"

* * *

*Meanwhile, not too far away*

As the Grapple Grounder punched Noah on the cheek, he roared, "Bring them back!" The panda swung his fist but Knuckles merely dodged it. He growled, "Not in your life, dude! I worked my tail off erasin' your blasted kind from the planet!" "But the Grapple Grounders were innocent!" yelled Knuckles as he tried to punch Noah again.

The purple and gold panda blocked it with his arm as he remarked, "So were **THUNDERDRUMS**! Justice is served! Now my job is done, so now we're- Oof!" Knuckles had punched Noah in the gut, pushing him back.

Noah finished as he punched Knuckles in the face, "So now we're even!" "**EVEN?!**" Knuckles roared in anger as he held a barbed fist back. "How in the name of Draco are we even?!" When he swung his fist, Noah caught it. He said with no hesitation, "'Cause now we're both the last of our kinds."

Knuckles's violet eyes widened. Noah was the last of his kind? Before the Grounder could ask, Noah tossed Knuckles away from him. The panda growled, "Have you ever thought how the Thunderdrums got extinct? Do you know why the Devil Drums had drum in it? My dragon kind weren't slain. They were **_MUTATED!_**"

Noah snarled in anger and sadness, "_My _dragon kind used to flourish Xolakin. That is until _your_ dragon kind came n' turned us all into lab experiments!"

When Knuckles landed, he found himself surrounded by angry Devil Drums. Noah continued, "The Grounders messed with our genes to try and create the Devil Drums." He motioned to the Devil Drums, "And **_this _**is the result! No one remembers why they did it nor did they had any right to do it at all!" He patted a brownish-blue Devil Drum's head as he growled angrily, "Mothers and fathers sired eggs instead of babies. Every generation, as we bred out of existence, they would tell us the same dragons that did this to us!"

Noah smiled evilly as he spread his arms wide, "So here we are now. The last of the Thunderdrums n' the last of the Grapple Grounders. An eye for an eye, dude."

Just as the mutated Thunderdrums pounced, Knuckles punched them into noses, roaring, "**THAT'S IDIOTIC!**" He punched his way out of the Devil Drums' way, growling, "The Grapple Grounders now don't know about this! It was generations ago! They would've helped you reverse the damage, but now- 'cause of you- we're **both** extinct!"

When Knuckles came in front of the panda, Noah snarled, "Don't you **dare** lay this at my feet! It was _your _kind that started all this! Give 'em enough time n' they'll do the same crimes again! I finished it!"

Noah screamed in anger as he pulled a fist, "So now the Grapple Grounder race has **FALLEN!**" Smoothly, Knuckles said, "Well, guess what?" He roared as he punched Noah, "**_I'M STILL_**_** STANDING!**_" He pinned down Noah into the mud as he snarled, "And if you don't bring 'em back, then I guess I'm gonna have to force you- **GAAAHH!**"

The crimson Grounder was attacked by a purple and brown Devil Drum. Noah smirked, "Thanks, sis!" His mutant sibling growled in response. Knuckles tossed the Devil Drum out of his way and called, "Sonic! Keep the Devil Drums off me!"

Sonic, in his Celestial Dragon form, said, "Yeah, they are kind of a problem." He called to his teammates, "Team Hearts! Form-up! Got a plan!"

As Sonic gathered rope and wooden stakes, Noah punched Knuckles in the face, "I was gonna let you walk away, ya know! But now you're makin' this harder than it needs to be!" Knuckles snarled as he missed a punch at Noah, "You took away my family! The love of my life!" Noah tried to punch Knuckles but his arm was in the Grounder's paw.

"You robbed them all away from me for your stupid, short-sighted obsession!" Knuckles snarled. "Need I remind you that it's justice?!" Noah snarled back. "It's what my kind is owed! Now we're ev-"

Noah stopped when Knuckles had a tight grip on his arm, "Shut..." Knuckles roared as he flipped Noah to the other side, "**UP!**"

Sonic flew, digging the stakes around the Devil Drums. They realized they were being captures at a rapid pace when the stakes began to form a kennel.

Knuckles stood in front of the fallen Noah. He growled, "Your Devil Drums are caught, you're beaten, it's over. So bring my people back. **NOW.**"

Noah only smirked as he remembered his ultimate weapon. He said smoothly, "I'm ashamed to say it, but it looks like I can't beat'cha in a Dragon-to-Mobian fight and a fair fist-fight." He smirked evilly as he said, "So I guess I won't use my fists." Knuckles realized what Noah was talking about. Before he could react, Noah yelled, "**DRAGON HEART!**"

With that, he combusted into a blue flame. When the flames died, Noah was now his dragon: a Thunderdrum. He still had his color scheme and scars and marking, but now had white curved horns and long silvery wings. The panda/Thunderdrum took a deep breath and let out a piercing "**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**" The roar had Sonic Rings in it, blowing away Knuckles from Noah.

As Noah continued roaring, Knuckles flipped a little. But after his second flip, Knuckles dug his name-for-sakes into the mud. Barely opening his eyes, Knuckles saw the Thunderdrum now standing and walking closer to the Grounder. Knuckles growled harshly as Noah finally stopped in front of him. The Thunderdrum had his eyes closed and had no idea what the Grapple Grounder was planning.

Knuckles dug the black barbs into the ground as he curled a fist and pulled it back. Noah continued roaring as Knuckles brought his back talons in deep mud. Suddenly, Knuckles swung his fist at Noah's head with a loud _KRACK! _Noah flew back, stunned. He landed on his spiny back, slightly unconscious.

Sonic, now back as a hedgehog, grinned as he knelt down to Noah's face. He said cockily, "N' that's why we don't mess with Knuckles."

Sonia looked for the Warp Ring, mumbling, "I am so glad Manic taught me how to pick-pocket while we were at space." Tails prepared a weapon to stunned Noah in case he got to his senses. "Okay, where's that Warp Ring?" Sonia growled. "You used it just a minute a-**GO!**"

Sonia and Tail yelped while Noah silently gasped when a robot Knuckles, seeming to be covered with a few vines, attacked. "Hey, Sonic," the robot said. "I'm back! I toldya I'd be back!"

As Sonic attacked the new Metal Knuckles and Sonia and Tails struggled to catch their breath, the robot said, "I know. I'm in a new body, which is very powerful, by the way. But surely you haven't forgotten the Krudza Hybrid Hydra, have you?"

The real Knuckles punched his robot copy in the fist. Unfortunately, the Krudzu-Knuckles swung the vine with Tails at Knuckles. They crashed and hit Sonic as well.

Taking this as a distraction and now back as a panda, Noah ran to a clearing with his large Warp Ring. He tossed his Ring into the air and it opened. Knuckles saw the bright light and heard the _FWASH!_ "No!" Knuckles roared in terror as Noah leaped into the portal, disappearing to unknown places. Knuckles lunged at the ring and made it stay open.

The Grounder turned his head to the group and roared, "Sonic, he's getting away! I gotta-" "Dude, just go!" Sonic roared. "We'll take care of everything here!" Knuckles nodded and barged himself into the Warp Ring as he left Team Hearts with the mutated Metal Knuckles...

* * *

**Knuckles- hunting down Noah! Unfortunately, I'm not gonna show you the battle with Team Hearts with Metal Knuckles. Don't miss the ultimate fight in the next chapter: KNUCKLES VS. NOAH! Peace out.**


	4. One of A Kind

**Here it is, the big finale! This may be the last chapter, but it won't be the end.**

* * *

At Xolakin, in the Thunderdrum ruins, a Warp Ring opened with a _FWASH! _And the battle continues between Knuckles and Noah! The red Grapple Grounder and the purple and yellow Thunderdrum tumbled out of the portal. Noah punch Knuckles in the face as Knuckles pinned down the Thunderdrum. The Grounder flipped the Thunderdrum and punched him in the head.

Acting quick, Noah turned swiftly and slashed his barbed tail at Knuckles. The sharp tail sliced the Grounder's shoulder, scratching the scales. The Grounder roared in pain and bared his teeth at the Thunderdrum. Noah was about to swing his tail again but Knuckles grabbed the tail, shocking the Thunderdrum. He swung Noah once and tossed him into a concrete cave, turning the Thunderdrum back into a panda.

Knuckles leaped toward the huge hole with an angry face, only to softly gasp in shock to see a group of Devil Drums and an ancient female Thunderdrum. They turned to the Grounder as Noah struggled to stand up. The Devil Drums snarled at Knuckles as the old dragon raised her wrinkly and blue paw towards the Grounder in fear shakily. "A... A Grapple Grounder..." she whispered in terror as Knuckles walked back in shame for what his ancestors did to innocent dragons.

Suddenly, Noah, back in his Thuderdrum form, stood out of the hole and roared, "**RAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH!**" The sonic-blasting roar barely blew the Grounder away as Knuckles went right back to what he was supposed to be doing. A huge piece of concrete flew towards Knuckles and the Grounder punched it, turning it into powder.

Noah ran to the Warp Ring, being pursued by Knuckles. Noah got into the portal first, and then the Grounder. The Warp Ring closed.

The Devil Drums were snarling as the old Thunderdrum whimpered and cried in fear.

* * *

At Sand-Wing Desert in Shamar, the Warp Ring opened. Noah leaped out and on his feet on the yellow sand. Knuckles landed and the two dragons began to fight again.

The Thunderdrum threw some sand at the Grounder's face with his wings, causing some in his eyes. Knuckles screeched in pain and Noah smirked. As the Grounder crashed, he accidentally woke up some Sand Rattlers. They hissed and Knuckles smirked as a plan formed in his head. He hissed in their language and the Sand Rattlers nodded.

Noah was about to get in the Warp Ring when a big flock of Sand Rattlers attacked him. Knuckles smirked as Noah roared in anger. Knuckles ran toward the Warp Ring, but was stopped short when a purple tail was slammed into his chest. Knuckles shrieked in pain, turning back into his echidna form. Noah smirked and slapped the Sand Rattlers off him.

Noah ran into the Warp Ring, but Knuckles clung onto the Thunderdrum's tail.

* * *

The Ring opened in the Rain-Wing Jungle in Adabat. Noah fell into a huge branch. He held onto it and noticed the echidna was still on his tail. He shook him off and Knuckles turned into his Grapple Grounder form by yelling, "Dragon-Heart!" He flew up and tackled the Thunderdrum.

The two dragons roared as they fought in the air or on the trees. Noah took a deep breath and belched out a blue fireball with white sparks emitting from it. Knuckles dodged it and belched out his own: a huge, white fireball with red highlights. Noah wasn't that lucky, for he was singed on his wing. He howled and flew to the open Warp Ring, being followed by the enraged Grounder.

* * *

At the Windmill Isles near Apotos, Noah came out of the Warp Ring and closed it after Knuckles came out. He flew into the Windmills, followed by the agile Knuckles. The Thunderdrum swiftly went under a bridge and Knuckles flew above it. The red dragon dove towards the purple and gold dragon. He pinned him down from the sky and was about to drown him into the ocean when Noah bellowed, "**RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**"

Knuckles released the Thunderdrum, being blown away from the roar. Noah dove into the water and flew back out. He opened the Warp Ring and flew in it. Knuckles flew swiftly towards the open Ring before it closed.

* * *

At the Empire City in one of Mystery's Islands, Noah flew out of the Warp Ring and Knuckles zoomed toward the Thunderdrum. Noah closed the Ring before Knuckles grabbed the Thunderdrum's purple tail and swung him into a dirt road. Noah had his head stuck in the ground and struggled to get his head out. Meanwhile, the red Grounder curled into a ball and fell towards the Thunderdrum.

Noah managed to get his head out and saw Knuckles crashing on his belly. He bellowed in pain and snapped his jaws at the Grounder. They stood up and roared at each other. Noah lunged at Knuckles but the Grapple Grounder was quicker. Knuckles grabbed the Thunderdrum by the shoulders and flung him.

He got back on his fours and Noah stood up. The Thunderdrum whipped his tail at Knuckles and it banged against a rock. Knuckles swung his fist at Noah and it slammed into Noah's wing, breaking it with a loud _SNAP! _Noah shrieked in agony as his wing was snapped. He let out a loud "**RAAAAAAAAAAGH!**", blowing away the Grapple Grounder. He threw his Warp Ring into the air and struggled to get in it. Knuckles saw the Thunderdrum tail disappearing and followed it.

* * *

At Tarasque Forest in Spagonia was where the Warp Ring opened. Noah ran out and closed the Warp Ring as he landed. Another Warp Ring opened and Knuckles flew out of it. The two slashed each other with their talons. Noah managed to scratch Knuckles in his chest, where Knuckles's white mark was.

The Grapple Grounder roared in pain and belched out his fireball. It landed on Noah's face and the Thunderdrum bellowed. Noah slashed his talons at Knuckles on the wing, giving it a small tear. The Grounder roared and swung his fist at the Thunderdrum. Noah was hit in his jaw, loosing a fang.

Noah turned into his panda form and wiped the blood off his lips. He growled and it turned into his Thuderdrum roar, "**RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**" The ringed wind blew away the Grounder and Noah took this chance to run into the Warp Ring. He jumped inside it headfirst, and was followed by Knuckles.

* * *

At White Dragon Tooth in Holaska, the Warp Ring opened. Noah came out and landed face-first into the snow. Being a panda, he was used to cold climates. He stood right up and swiftly snapped his fingers. The Warp Ring closed but another Warp Ring portal opened and Knuckles came out.

Noah glared at the Grounder as he caught his Warp Ring. He turned back into his Thunderdrum form. They made a loud crack when the Thunderdrum held onto the Grounder's barbed fists. Suddenly, Noah flung Knuckles headfirst into the snow. Knuckles responded by swinging his fists into Noah's chin as he got out of the snow.

The Thunderdrum punched the Grapple Grounder with the sides in his fist so Knuckles would fall into the snow. Knuckles stood back up and punched the Thunderdrum in his belly. Knuckles punched Noah back. Realizing he couldn't win the fist-fight even in his dragon form, Noah curled his fists and let out a "**RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**" blowing away the Grounder.

The Grounder roared back in anger. But suddenly, a rumble back from behind the Grounder and Noah smirked. They looked up and saw an avalanche coming right at them.

Buried in the raging snow, Noah tried to get his Warp Ring out. He did and flung it into the air, opening it. He jumped into it, disappearing to an unknown place. Knowing he had to catch up, Knuckles grabbed onto the Warp Ring and dragged himself into it.

* * *

At the First One Shrine, where Draco's Diamond stood, the Warp Ring opened on Draco's Island. Noah slammed on his snow-covered belly on the ground. He stood up on all fours and shook his head as Knuckles climbed from the Warp Ring. Knuckles leaped out and Noah turned his head, baring his teeth with a sharp glare.

Then, the panda smirked. He stood up and quickly closed the Warp Ring. He ran toward the edge and shouted, "Now we're one of a kind, Grounder!" He leaped off the ledge. Knuckles, thinking that the panda was insane, ran towards the edge and jumped behind him.

Noah, now transformed into a Thunderdrum, opened the Warp Ring below him. As he fell, he was into the Warp Ring. The Ring was about to close when Knuckles was two feet away from it. When it was closed, Knuckles grabbed it and made a sharp takeoff, spreading his wings.

He flew back onto the floating island. Turning back into an echidna, Knuckles tossed the Warp Ring into the air. Unfortunately, when he got in it, he realized that he was still on Draco's Island. He mumbled as he checked the Warp Ring, seeing the empty space in the middle, "No. No, no, no, no, no, no!"

Knuckles's violet eyes started to water as he stepped back from the empty Warp Ring. He closed his eyes and bared his teeth, growling. He roared in anger and sadness as he punched the ground, cracking a small bit of the Shrine. And after that, he cried.

Knuckles was supposed to be the Grapple Grounders' Guardian, and not only Draco's Diamond and Island. Now, the Grapple Grounders were gone and he was the last one again. All because of revenge. Revenge for the mutated Thunderdrums.

* * *

**That's it! The Grapple Grounders are gone and Noah and the Devil Drums are now happy with their revenge. But will their happiness last? I'll be making a sequel of this. So see ya there!**


End file.
